the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy

Series produced by Guy Rathbun

Caption: Joe "King" Oliver
Joe "King" Oliver 

A weekly program of Music and Stories for "The Jazz Age."

Across the spectrum of pop and jazz from the late teens to the early 1930s, this weekly series from the Club McKenzie invites you the share in the talents and tales of the musicians and performers that created an unforgettable era.


624 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Napoleon's Charge
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Phil Napoleon
Phil Napoleon is considered a primary pioneer of jazz trumpet, and his playing profoundly affected Red Nichols and Bix Beiderbecke. He was one of t...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Apr 22, 2015
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Back Beat
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Zutty Singleton
“Back Beat” is used as a reference to Rock & Roll denoting the 2nd and 4th beats, however, in this case, it fits for the pioneer percussionists of ...

Bought by KCBX and KCBX


  • Added: Apr 29, 2015
  • Length: 58:59
  • Purchases: 2
Peregrinations
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Sidney Bechet
Several pioneers of jazz made their way overseas to perform for a European audience that, in many cases, were far more receptive of their music tha...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: May 05, 2015
  • Length: 58:58
  • Purchases: 1
They All Play Hoagy
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Piece image
The music of Hoagland "Hoagy" Carmichael performed by musicians in the 1920s to the 1990s.

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: May 13, 2015
  • Length: 58:59
  • Purchases: 1
Joe and Eddie
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Joe Venuti & Eddie Lang
The all-star battery mates, Joe Venuti and Eddie Lang met in high school. Both were violinist, but Eddie eventually switched to guitar. They became...

Bought by KMUW, KCBX, and KCBX


  • Added: May 19, 2015
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 3
The Early Big Bands
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: King Oliver
The earliest jazz big bands had swing, yet they are not considered part of the “Swing Era.” Part of the reasoning behind that is simply the need to...

Bought by KMUN and KCBX


  • Added: May 26, 2015
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 2
Crossin' Beale Street
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Beale Street, Memphis, TN
Memphis Tennessee became a musical Mecca in the 1920s, and Beale Street was its center. W.C. Handy was arguably the most influential composer sprea...

Bought by KMUW and KCBX


  • Added: Jun 03, 2015
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 2
Kudos for Kardos
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Gene Karos
In 1931, a fresh new band recorded its first four sides at the Victor Studios, New York City. This young band dared to buck the trend by playing ho...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Jun 10, 2015
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
The Hot Five
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: The Hot Five
When Okey Records approached Louis Armstrong with the idea of forming his own studio band to bring hot jazz to the American public, Louis jumped at...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Jun 15, 2015
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Sleepers
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Crescent City Orchestra
Sleepers: Those wonderfully talented band of the last 1920s who were kept in the dark. Somehow, despite their inventiveness, they never reached a l...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Jun 24, 2015
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
The Hotsy Totsy Gang
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Irving Mills
He may not have been much of a musician, but Irving Mills was enough of an entrepreneur to understand the value of popular music. Jazz was its name.

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Jun 30, 2015
  • Length: 58:59
  • Purchases: 1
The Merry Makers
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: The Blue Rhythm Band
By 1930 Irving Mills had the world on a string. His music publishing business was booming, and he began to expand his control over his musicians.

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Jul 09, 2015
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 1
Another Louis
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Louis Metcalf
Louis Metcalf was an inventive jazz cornet and trumpet artist best remembered for his short stint with the Duke Ellington Orchestra in 1927.

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Jul 13, 2015
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Voices of the Jazz Age
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Blossom Seeley
Before the 1920s it was almost unheard of for female vocalists to record popular music. That is unless they were singing a number from their Broadw...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Jul 21, 2015
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Boys With the Band
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Charles "Buddy" Rogers
During the early years of jazz, vocalists had to experiment with the best way to compliment musicians that specialized in improvisation and counter...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Jul 28, 2015
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
The Revivalists
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Baby Dodds
As Big Band Swing began to fade in popularity, the musicians of the 1920s saw their chance at reviving their music.

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Aug 03, 2015
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Thinking Ahead
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Don Redman
By the mid 1920s jazz was established as the primary popular music in America. But, the musicians were not satisfied with just being on top. They h...

Bought by WDCB and KCBX


  • Added: Aug 11, 2015
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 2
Thinking Ahead, Too
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Coleman Hawkins
This is a look at four inventive musicians who pioneered the early stages of jazz: Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, Colman Hawkins and Frankie T...

Bought by WDCB and KCBX


  • Added: Aug 20, 2015
  • Length: 58:59
  • Purchases: 2
Networking: The Creation of Jazz
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Fess Williams
Jazz didn’t emerge from a vacuum. It was an amalgamation of several musical forms including blues, skiffle, the call and response, vaudeville, and ...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Aug 26, 2015
  • Length: 58:59
  • Purchases: 1
Then & Now
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: the Club McKenzie: Your 1920s Jazz Speakeasy
Caption: Scott Robinson
This is a showpiece for today’s musicians performing music of the 1920s coupled with the original artists.

Bought by KCBX and KCBX


  • Added: Sep 01, 2015
  • Length: 58:59
  • Purchases: 2

Playlists That Feature This Series: